Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

ionahenor2

kayl wrote: »

Very sad day yesterday, as I lost my first hen to a fox. I let my 4 girls out at 7.30am as usual, and heard a fearful racket from 3 of them at 8.30 - no sign at all of poor Rosie, and I just saw the fox disappearing over my back fence ( 6 feet tall!)

When I got the first 2 last year, we were very cautious, and only let them out of the Eglu run when we were watching them. We have gradually got more relaxed, and have since Easter been letting them out whenever we are in the house. This has taught me a sad lesson, and I am afraid that I'll have to go back to curtailing their freedom. They were very subdued after it, and kept within a couple of feet of me all day.

The worst bit is that my duaghter went off to camp on Sayurday, and I'm going to have to break the news to her next weekend!

Oh thats awful I know just how you feel.

Like you I used to let them out of their eglu pen when we were at home and lost 2 to a fox last year.....around this time too. I think they are feeding young as mine happened early afternoon.

Now the girls only come out when I am out in the garden. They now have a larger pen too but I still feel mean curtailling their freedom.

ionahenor2

Gigervamp your videos are super. I love the evening with the chooks. Who says chickens don't talk!!!!!

How many do you have now and what do you do with all the eggs?

It makes me so cross when I see cheap eggs in the supermarket. How much are the farmers being paid? Morrisons had 4 FR eggs for 29p last week.

Gigervamp

We've got 20 altogether with the Araucana chicks but we only tend to get about 6 eggs a day. Some of the girls don't lay every day, our silky x has never laid since we had her and Belle laid about 5 eggs just after we got her, but none since!

In fact, hubby and I are just talking about getting some more because we're not able to keep up with demand for the eggs! Hubby's just had an email from someone at work asking for 3 boxes a week.

ionahenor2

Wow looks like you have a holiday camp for chooks. Is the chook field near your house? I must be very lucky as I get 3 eggs from 3 hens most days. My older hen Daisy tends to lay for 3/4 days then has a rest for a day or 2 but the 2 younger one from last year lay most days. (65 eggs so far this month) It works out well but this week we are over run with them even after giving some away.

I'd love more hens.

RebekahR

I have seen coops with lino on the floor for easy of cleaning. Do you think this lino could be applied through the coop on the walls and ceiling also to keep down the mites? How would you attach it?

Gigervamp

ionahenor2 wrote: »

Wow looks like you have a holiday camp for chooks. Is the chook field near your house?

Lol, they have an old bench to perch on and even a tunnel made from a bit of 12ish inch wide tubing that hubby discovered, and an old kids rope and plank bridge draped over it that they like going through and over.

There's a pear tree there too, so they're going to enjoy that in a couple of months when the pears start dropping.

The field is just a few yards from the kitchen. There's another field next to it which is a bit bigger and we're going to be fencing that off soon so we can move the chickens and give the old field a rest, let the grass grow back etc.

Chickenopolis

KAYL- I am so sorry to hear your news. It makes you feel rotten.

The foxes in our area have been seen to clear our 8ft fence which also has spikey wire nailed on top of it. We have a "friendly" seagull, Steven (as in Segal) who dive bombed the fox, with some success as it was trying to jump the 8ft fence very early one morning before the hens were let out. I hope it scared the **** out of it . Sorry,I know its what foxes "do" but its still rotten when it happens to you .:(

Chickenopolis

Gigervamp- Thanks for the footage, loving your chooks.Sebastian is a bit of a looker isn't he ? I am sure he said "bliddy hell" at the start of the footage? Clever too.

Steel_2

kayl wrote: »

Very sad day yesterday, as I lost my first hen to a fox. I let my 4 girls out at 7.30am as usual, and heard a fearful racket from 3 of them at 8.30 - no sign at all of poor Rosie, and I just saw the fox disappearing over my back fence ( 6 feet tall!)

So sorry to hear about your little chickie.

Is that fence the only way the fox can get in to the garden?

kayl

Yes, as there is chicken wire around all the gaps.

Someone has suggested that foxes are creatures of habit, and may come back to the garden about the same time of day again - but I'm not quite sure what I can do if it does!

I had seen tracks in the snow in the winter, but as far as I can tell it never tried to get into the eglu